Page 25 of Easton

We head out back to my fenced-in yard, where I’ve got a deck with chairs. “How’s our little lady?” I ask once we’ve sat down.

“Good, but you didn’t call me to talk about Meadow.”

There’s no holding back the sigh because he’s right. The thing is, I also want to be careful what I tell him about Easton. It doesn’t take a genius to know he’s not the type to like his business getting spread around, but there’s no one in this world I trust more than Cass. Whatever I tell him will go no further than the two of us.

“I kissed Easton Swift.” Might as well just put it out there.

He chuckles. “Am I supposed to be surprised?”

“Well, he kissed me first…and I kissed him back…and then I stopped him, told him it wasn’t a good idea, and he got upset and took off.”

“Okay, why did you stop it? You don’t want him?”

“I do. Fuck, you know I do. That’s not why this started, but yes, I’m attracted to him. It’s a complicated situation. The power dynamic between us is already skewed my way. I’m a police officer, and East has gotten in trouble with the law how many times? Plus, how often have I been the one they call to deal with him? I don’t want him to kiss me because he thinks he should or because he thinks he owes me.” Now that I’m saying it all out loud, I’m not even sure it makes sense.

“You have to trust him to know the difference. If he believes you’re the kind of man who would expect something sexual because of that shit, then he doesn’t know you.”

I see what he’s saying but… “You don’t know him like I’m beginning to. I’m not sure if anyone truly knows him.” I don’t think he knows himself. “He’s got a bad rep, and yeah, he’s done things wrong, but…” I think about those nights at the campsite. Seeing him cry and talk to himself. Falling asleep in my arms. Sagging against me like he doesn’t have the strength to hold himself up anymore. How he doesn’t think we are friends and expects me to get tired of him. “I think that man is hurt more than anyone I’ve ever known.”

“Are you trying to fix him?”

“No. Hell no.”

He holds up his hands. “I didn’t mean anything by it.”

“I know.” I sigh, leaning back in my chair. “I don’t want to fix him, but I do want to be there for him. He doesn’t understand that’s possible. He expects me to walk away, believes he’s not worth it, and I think he’s doing everything in his power to make that happen—like a self-fulfilling prophecy.”

“And I’m sure you stopping the kiss only fed into that—not that you didn’t have the right to do that. You do, and honestly, it was smart.”

Holy shit. Why hadn’t I thought of it that way? Easton saw that as rejection. He put himself out there, and to him, I didn’t want him. Why hadn’t I told him I want him?

“I need to talk to him.” Which I tried…and that didn’t go so well.

“You should, but I have to ask, just because I’m me. I don’t have anything against the guy. I don’t know him well, but are you sure this is a good idea? Getting involved with him? He does seem like he has a lot going on, and I don’t want you to get hurt. And could it cause problems with your job?”

It’s a little late for me to decide not to get involved with East. I couldn’t stop even if I wanted to…and I don’t want to. Will it be easy? Nope. The truth is, I have no idea what I mean by “getting involved.” Do I think we’re going to be boyfriends? I can’t see Easton wanting that, and I’m not sure I do either, but I wantsomething. I’m intrigued by him. We’re entangled in this way I didn’t anticipate, and I want to explore it. How we choose to do that,ifwe choose to do that, is up to me and East. But Cass is right about one thing: the higher-ups won’t like it. He’s not a felon, and that makes a difference, but he’s been in enough trouble that it’s a bad look.

I’m also not going to walk away from my friend because of mistakes he’s made.

“I’ll be fine,” I tell Cass because it’s the only answer I have right now. I can’t say what this means with Easton. I can’t say if it will go anywhere. But I want to be his friend. I want to know what it’s like to feel him beneath me too.

“I have your back no matter what. Whatever you want, I want for you, but think about this before you make any rash decisions, okay?”

I nod, but there’s not really anything to think about. I’m already too involved.

CHAPTER SEVEN

Easton

Ifeel Dusty’sgaze on me all day at work, just like I did yesterday when Archer showed up here. What was he thinking? He’s going to give people the wrong idea. Hell, I never should have hung out with him that day. I knew better, but I did it anyway, and now things are even more of a clusterfuck than usual.

“What?” I finally ask Dusty when I can’t take the intense weight of his stare anymore.

“Who’s Casanova?”

I roll my eyes, but at least it’s better than him asking me about Archer. I swear my life would be easier if people would just leave me alone. “My dog.”

His gaze softens. “Is that what you were doing when you needed to leave early? Saving another dog?”

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